1973 F-250 - Turbo BBF - It's off to a new home!

[BBR]

Yep. The same 552 shortblock with a mild turbo friendly cam and iron heads that lower the compression ratio to 9.5:1.

[Russell]

I'm lost... I thought this was a different motor than what was in the Stang

Same short block new milder top end

[Deaf Bob]

It likely will make 450-500 on motor so my guess is that on 10psi it will make roughly the same amount of power as it did n/a in the Mustang. Benefit being at a lower rpm with a flatter torque curve and a camshaft that is power brake friendly. All good things for a vehicle this size and weight.

I'm lost... I thought this was a different motor than what was in the Stang

[BBR]

It likely will make 450-500 on motor so my guess is that on 10psi it will make roughly the same amount of power as it did n/a in the Mustang. Benefit being at a lower rpm with a flatter torque curve and a camshaft that is power brake friendly. All good things for a vehicle this size and weight.

[Russell]

Any guesses on power production vs when it was NA in the mustang? More, less, about the same?

[BBR]

Man, Rockauto is fast sometimes. I ordered connectors for the TPS, IAT and CLT sensors yesterday and they arrived a few minutes ago. Time to start making an efi wiring harness!

[BBR]

Last night I robbed the battery from the Mustang, pre-lubed the motor, stabbed the distributor (which took FOREVER) put the plug wires on it, dumped some gas in it and checked for fuel leaks. It had 2. One at the regulator because a fitting was completely loose and the other at the carb. That Dominator has the ability to feed the fuel bowl from either side, so the other side has a plug. I left the plug out for some reason. Flipped the switch for the fuel pump and fuel shot out of the carb bowl all over the intake!! Yikes! Once all that was corrected, I turned it on, hit the starter button and it roared to life. Almost too easy. At one point it started running rough and I thought “oh no I killed the cam”. Turns out I didn’t have the #2 and #4 plug wires on good and they had fallen off the plugs. Lol. Turbo spins and it makes turbo noises and the 5” open down pipe is fairly thunderous. Next thing to do is to start wiring up the Megasquirt!

I also put some trim back on (had to shorten it from long bed to short bed) and made a shield to keep potential rear mail seal leakage or trans seal leakage from getting on the crossover pipe.



Running video.

[BBR]

I made decent progress last night, but it was not without a little trouble. I started filling it with water and noticed it was leaking. Seems the thermostat slipped out of place when I was installing it. Nice.

Converter nuts are on, oil and break-in lube is in, spark plugs are tight, temporary HEI wiring in in, tach is connected, *most* of the water is in it, correct spring is in the fuel pressure regulator. I still need to rob the battery from the Mustang, install thermostat & housing, pre-lube with the drill, stab distributor, put plug wires on, put some fuel in it, turn on electric pump and check for fuel leaks, flip the switch and hope it doesn't catch fire.

[BBR]

Cobra for BCT and War Eagles (15) for the academic year.

USPS informed delivery shows we will get our first letter from him today. Can't wait. The pics available through Webguy are fantastic, but really want to know his take on everything so far!

[CTX-SLPR]

He's a Gold class! Hard to think that 20yrs ago that was me (another Gold class). There was snow on Falcon Peak when I started BCT on 1 July 1999. What squadron is he headed into?

[BBR]

Couple of Jake pics just for fun. 11000+ kids apply to the academy, ~1147 got in. The Naval Academy and West Point have similar numbers. He will be the Class of 2023. He is thinking of majoring in Aeronautical Engineering, but they really do not decide that until the end of their sophomore year, so it could change. These kids are all from at least the top 10% of their high school classes so this is a group of really smart kids. He is currently doing 6 weeks of Basic Cadet Training (BCT) which really amounts to be yelled at a lot, running a lot, being busy 100% of the time with zero free time and will finish up with weapons training, obstacle courses and living in tents. Academic classes will start Aug 8 at which time his life will be more like a normal college student. Attending classes, studying, free time, etc.

Gold is their class color so the gold hats identify them on campus as "Doolies" participating in BCT. EVERYONE at the Academy goes through BCT regardless of size or gender. So you will have tiny gymnast girls right alongside a huge D1 ready football player.

[Deaf Bob]

Figured with graduation and Jake's going into the AF ... You'd use time with him before he leaves.

[BBR]

Not much to report. We were out of town all last week dropping Jake off at the Air Force Academy.

Wiring and organizing the engine bay is what I have been doing the last couple of days.

[Russell]

Updates?

[BBR]

Trans cooler is now mounted, new battery tray is bolted in (moving battery to driver's side) and trimmed a little more metal out around the intercooler so it would not chaw into my 90 silicone elbows.

Nothing real exciting, but it's all gotta be done!